The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-10-14
SORGHUM FOR FOOD.
A Kansas Farmers Gratifying Exporter
With This Crnr.

With This Crop.
To raise a successful crop of sorghum
prepare good ground as you would for
a good crop of corn; if your soil is
fertile it will produce more, if thin less.
Before sowing test your seed that you
may know what proportion of it will
grow. On strong soil SOW at least
bushel of clean seed per acre; if the
soil is poor three pecks of seed will be
sufficient You may sow your sorghum
seed broadcast or drill it in as you
choose. It should be covered about
the depth of wheat, and in this climate
sown from the 1st to the Goth of May,
or Immediately after corn planting.
The amber cane, on account of its
early maturity, is perhaps preferable.
Having sown good seed the crop will
soon appear occupying all the ground
and smothering out the weeds. After
the crop has got foot high so as to
shade the ground it will mature without
further rain. When the head begins
to show here and there, over the field
it should be cut either with an ordi
nary moving machine, or with 4
harvester, leaving it, in case the weather
is dry, in piles or binding it in small
bundles. If the crop is cut by an or
binary moving machine it will be
ready to rake into winrOws in four to
six days, varying in proportion to the
ranzness of the crop. On good soil the
crop should grow from five to seven feet.
After standing in the winrOws four OF
i've days it will probably be ready to
place in your barn, or stack as you
choose. Should your sorghum get wet
while cutting it does not hurt it much,
but it should be dry when put into
stack or NOW, otherwise it will mold.
If you have followed the above direc-
tons in sowing, cutting and curing
your crop you will find that you have
from five to eight tons per acre of most
excellent and nutritious food accept
able to any and all heifers or animals,
especially adapted to promote an
abundant flow of sweet milk from our
dairy COWS, and with a little middlings
or Indian meal added will keep them
in excellent health. Some three years
/ ago last November / put in stable
| twelve head of "'strippers. directing
my man to feed them what rough food
they would eat, and in addition to give
each COW about one quart of corn-meal
/ and three quarts Of wheat bran morn
ing and evening This he did, but as
/ nv sorghum fodder was covered by
| several tons of prairie hay, he had to
/ first feed that to them. Notwith-
/ standing this hay was bright and
/ sweet these cows fell off in theiI
milk very much, but when reaching the
/ sorghum they commenced to gain
/ again, and many of them continued a
free flow of milk up to near calving
/ time. Since then n similar experience
! has been repeated nearly every winter.
/ The seed of sorghum, though nutritious,
will dryssup milk cows if fed to them,
/ and for this reason and also because
the stalk, if permitted to mature
becomes tough and woody, the croI
should always be cut before the seed
has formed. In this latitude two crops
| Of sorghum can be secured every
season, the second crop not yielding
/ quite as much but in quality quite a:
good as the first, or if you prefer, you
may secure two months or more Of
good late pasture before frost in place
Of the second crop. In either case this
crop is very profitable to the stockman
In concIusion desire TO say that my
sorghum crop has always been reliable
Notwithstanding heat, drought and
insects, giving me uniformly good
| crops even on fresh broken sod. Try
it yourself and be convinced. 4
Ensign, IA Dairy Word.